A Night of Honour and A Display of Care & Unity
29 April 2009
Media Release
1. This year, the prestigious May Day Awards were conferred on 60 outstanding individuals and companies at the May Day Dinner. The awards recognise their significant and valuable contributions to the Labour Movement. A total of eight categories of May Day awards were presented. (Please refer to Annex B for full list and Annex C for award breakdown.)
2. These awardees have helped thousands of workers at their workplaces through their efforts and have strengthened the Singapore workforce by supporting tirelessly in the areas of skills upgrading, workfare and welfare. The stories behind the awards are an inspiration and speak of true passion, hard work and determination for the betterment of workers’ lives.
3. The awards nominated by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) this year include: Medal of Commendation (Gold), Comrade of Labour (Star) and Plaque of Commendation (Gold).
Medal of Commendation (Gold)
4. This year’s Medal of Commendation (Gold) was awarded to Ms Ho Ching, Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings and Mr James Lee, Finance Director of Wing Tai Holdings Limited respectively. Ms Ho Ching has been a strong supporter of the unions, actively engaging unionists in diverse sectors, addressing workers concerns and looking after workers well being. Separately, Mr James Lee has been a firm believer of constant communications between management and union and is always ready to initiate changes and improvements for the benefits of the workers. He played a critical role in the re-employment of older workers as well as the Women Back-to-Work initiatives.
Comrade of Labour (Star)
5. The Comrade of Labour (Star) award was given to Comrade Michael Chang Song Chew. For more than 30 years, Comrade Michael Chang has devoted much of his life to help better the lives of fellow workers. He has been providing valuable advice and directions to fellow workers in the areas of finance, administration, membership and guest relations. He also played a critical role in maintaining the harmonious industrial relations between the company and the union through his active involvement in Collective Agreements negotiations.
Plaque of Commendation (Gold)
6. The Plaque of Commendation (Gold) was awarded to two outstanding companies, namely GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pte Ltd and Shimano (S) Pte Ltd, for their unwavering support towards the unions and the labour movement. GSK believes strongly in the advantage of the unique tripartite relationship in Singapore. It viewed the union as a valuable partner and is able to work hand in hand with the union to develop comprehensive policy for the benefits of the workers and the company through regular sharing of information.
7. Another recipient, Shimano, relentless pursuit of workers’ welfare and harmonious union-management relations has allowed it to forge a sturdy and close relationship with the union through a strong foundation of trust and mutual respect. The proactive approach taken by Shimano in dealing with the manpower issue during this downturn allows the company to better prepare itself for the economic upturn.
8. Other awardees include 4 non-unionists who made outstanding contributions to the Labour Movement, 34 unionists who have served the Labour Movement tirelessly, 6 senior management representatives who have helped promote good industrial relations and workers’ training, as well as 11 companies who have supported NTUC programmes consistently.
9. Mr G Rajendran, one of the co-chairpersons of the May Day Award sub-committee said, “The awards are our way of recognising and honouring the contributions made by unionists and non-unionists to the Labour Movement. We hope the winners of the various awards will inspire others to also step in to make a difference in the lives of fellow workers and to do more for the Labour Movement!”
10. At the dinner, John De Payva, President of NTUC, shared a wonderful piece of news with the 1,400 guests, comprising senior government officials, company management and unionists. For the first time, there is 100% participation from the 60 NTUC affiliated unions and 6 associations towards the Labour Movement U Care fund. They have rallied together to achieve the $1 million target set on 11 March 2009. In full support, the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) has also, along the way, chipped in with a $2 match for every dollar raised by the unions. This means that SLF has contributed $2 million to the U Care fund to match the donations from the unions. With these contributions accumulated throughout the months, this brings the current U Care fund total to $$15,342,100. Please see Annex D for the breakdown.
11. President John was pleased to see the united efforts displayed by the unions and associations for striving against all odds to raise the targeted $1 million fund. He said, “I am very happy that our affiliated unions and associations can rally together despite this difficult time. It is with this spirit of care and willingness to go the extra mile to help fellow workers that we can overcome all odds together no matter how tough the situation may be. The amount raised will go a long way to help alleviate the financial difficulties face by our needy members. I would like to thank all unions, associations and SLF for their strong support.”
12. For the first time, the dinner proceeds, amounting to almost $90,000 was also channelled to the U Care Fund as NTUC strives to be the most caring labour movement in the world.
13. The May Day Dinner sub-committee and May Day Awards sub-committee would also like to thank the SLF for the generous support, without which, the May Day Dinner 2009 would not have been possible.
ANNEX B
MAY DAY AWARDS 2009
Awardees (excluding the 5 NTUC nominated awardees)
ANNEX C
MAY DAY AWARDS 2009
Medal of Commendation (Gold)
Conferred on senior management personnel who continue to make significant contributions towards the trade union movement for at least an additional five years after receiving the Medal of Commendation.
Comrade of Labour (Star)
Conferred on a serving and deserving trade unionist who, after having received the Comrade of Labour Award for four years or more, continues to render significant contributions to his trade union and the trade union movement.
Plaque of Commendation (Gold)
Conferred on a company that, after receiving the Plaque of Commendation, continues to make significant contributions towards promoting good industrial relations and workers’ training.
Friend of Labour
Conferred on a non-unionist who has rendered significant contributions to the Labour Movement for a minimum of five years.
Comrade of Labour
Conferred on a serving and deserving trade unionist who has made significant contributions to his trade union and is still active in his trade unions’ executive committee. He should have served the trade union movement for at least five years, and also serving in the NTUC co-operatives, Singapore Labour Foundation and its companies, NTUC affiliates and other NTUC committees.
Veteran of Labour
Conferred on a retired trade unionist who has made significant contributions to the Labour Movement continuously, preferably with no break in service, for at least 15 years. His exit from the Labour Movement should be due to retirement or retrenchment and not because of resignation or termination of service, disciplinary or other adverse reasons.
Medal of Commendation
Conferred on senior management personnel who has made significant contributions towards promoting good industrial relations, workers’ training and welfare of workers.
Plaque of Commendation
Conferred on a company that has made significant contributions towards:
ANNEX D
Breakdown For U Care Fund - Total
